Legacy of the Dark Sage

That development would be ideal for the Regis and Kyran's people. However, the deep-seated prejudices of the dragons and quilin towards the Regis would make such a development daunting.

Ames pointed that out, and the two, Aron and Cade, could only smile bitterly.

"Like Father told you, we have only started fixing the aides' and a few of their adjutants' prejudices about the Regis. So far, all of them are keeping an open mind while observing Kyran and the first Regis members who came here.

"Frankly, Sisi's affectionate and mild demeanor helped a lot to ease their bias. Some believed that someone like her would not have become the life partner of a— pardon the term— flawed branch."

"We did expect the dragons to feel uncomfortable around us, humans, with diluted dragon blood. Even if some of us who drank a drop of Lord Aillos's blood awakened our dragon bloodline and strengthened it to a certain degree since we cannot change into dragons, we are nothing but an inferior, flawed branch of the family," Aron tried to ease Ames's concern by voicing his opinion about the matter.

Ames looked at Aron in surprise, her brows raised slightly.

"What makes you think that's the reason they are bothered about your existence?"

Aron stopped what he was doing to look at Ames. He was somewhat surprised at her question because he believed the reason to be obvious.

"Well... aren't they not bothered by young Sisi's presence because she is not really part of the Regis? When I say 'part,' I meant to say that she was not born a Regis. Her blood is pure. Thus, it is only expected that she cannot turn into a dragon."

Ames was a little speechless at Aron's response. In fact, she did not consider that to be the dragon's reason for being hostile toward her other family. She only thought that they resented her for choosing a human as her life partner.

"Why do you think not being able to transform into a dragon bothers them?"

"Rather than being unable to transform, the real problem is that we cannot even participate in something that showcases a dragon's prowess. Because we do not have the body of a dragon, helping secure your family's future is what they are worried about."

"Secure my family's future..."

As if a light had been switched on in Ames's mind, the dragons' behavior toward the Regis Family only made sense to her after hearing Aron's explanation.

Aron could not help but smile wryly and said, "Lord Aillos is truly a foolish father. Seeing your confusion, it seems he did his best to hide this fact from you, Lady Ames."

"There is no reason to secure my family's future, though. It's not like we practice hereditary succession. Father can appoint a new successor if he can no longer lead the clan. There is no need for him to appoint one from our family."

"Lord Aillos's aides probably don't share the same sentiment," Cade, who had been listening in silence, chimed in at last. With a slight smile, he added, "Lord Aillos has been leading the Dragon Clan for more than a thousand years. It is not strange for the other leaders of the dragon tribes to want the next leader to come from his family."

Aron and Cade had been learning a lot about the Dragon Clan and were now more knowledgeable about their system and current state of affairs. Thus, they were able to understand how the dragons felt about Aillos as their leader. Besides, Aillos was the one who united all the dragons and put an end to the internal war. Just this alone was enough for most to view him as their eternal savior.

Ames was also a powerful dragon. They likely viewed her as Aillos's successor.

But then Ames chose a human as her life partner, completely destroying the dragons' hopes for Aillos's family to continue ruling over them.

This could have easily been resolved if Ames could take another life partner. But that was the problem. Dragons could only take one life partner. If not for this, forget about Ames; the other dragons would have insisted that Aillos take another life partner and produce more heirs.

"Father should know better," Ames said with a slight frown after a short pause. If the others had voiced their concerns, he should have alleviated their worries by saying he would appoint a successor from another dragon family or tribe."

"Yet, there has been no announcement of a successor," Aron chuckled while shaking his head. "I hope you don't take offense, Lady Ames, but your understanding of the Dragon Clan's current state of affairs seems lacking."

Ames reddened. She did not mind Aron's seemingly insulting words because he was right. She was not completely ignorant, but she admitted not having a more in-depth understanding of everything. Part of the reason for this was her lack of ambition.

Besides, the fact that the dragons did not see her other family in a good light already cemented her belief that she would never become the leader of the clan.

"The way I see it, there are a few reasons Lord Aillos had not announced his successor. The first reason is that he still wishes you would replace him. This is because he has not seen anyone worthy enough to be his successor. The second reason is that he cannot appoint a successor from another family or tribe just like that.

His successor should be accomplished enough that he or she could outshine your potential. I believe that no one has done this among the dragons in your generation. Lastly, if Lord Aillos indeed announces a successor from another family or tribe, how do you think the others not part of that tribe would feel?

"Lord Aillos earned all the dragons' trust and support, but what about his successor? From this, we can say that Lord Aillos is the only one keeping every dragon family and tribe together, ensuring the clan's peace."

Ames felt her head throb as if she were having a severe migraine— something dragons could not experience, given their good body constitution.

"You're saying some complicated stuff, Aron."

"That's how politics works, Lady Ames."

"But the Regis Family doesn't have such complicated matters."

"That's only because we inherited that part of your genes, Lady Ames. We wanted to avoid destroying the family with that kind of matter, so we created an environment for our people that would not allow such things to happen. Moreover, we made sure to teach the moral code properly to the future of the family."

"If that can be achieved easily, every clan would not have a problem," Ames replied with a sigh.

Cade chuckled, "That is true, Lady Ames. I believe that is also the flaw of the current Regis Clan. Since we don't want complicated matters to threaten the clan's stability, we try to keep to ourselves as much as possible."

"'Don't want complicated matters,' my ass," Ames growled and glared at Cade. "If that's true, how do you explain Kyran, huh?"

Cade scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, "That... there is always a first. It is also good for the clan's future."

Ames sighed while Aron chuckled.

"In any case," Ames paused and smiled at them. I'm happy to hear your opinion about the situation. I'll reassess the situation and see what I can do to help change the dragons' opinions. To be fair, there are promising talents among the younger generations. If they are given enough chance, I'm sure the dragons can accept them as my father's successor."

"From your words, I take it that you really don't want to succeed Lord Aillos as the next leader of the clan," Aron commented.

Ames snorted, "That is such a troublesome responsibility."

Aron chuckled, "Kyran takes after you on that aspect."

Cade smiled slightly, hearing his father's assessment about his son. In fact, he also noticed Kyran's lack of ambition in terms of leading the clan. Although Kyran was forced to take others under his wing during his journey outside the clan, he did not impose strict control over their freedom and allowed them to do what they wanted. He would only call for them if he needed assistance.

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But even then, he would ensure their safety, and most of the time, he ended up doing all the hard work.

Rather than becoming a leader of the clan, Kyran acted more like a vassal in support of his liege. The problem was that the liege was also himself.

"Speaking of Kyran," Ames remembered something and said, "I received a message from Raya. He said that they are nearing the completion of the new Array. It might be completed in the next couple of days. If that happens, you guys might not have to attend the Grand Gathering."

Aron and Cade's expressions turned solemn. They were aware of the new Array, and honestly, they were both excited and worried about it.

They could not wait to improve their strength. Only then could they support Kyran with his plans in the Higher Realm. But they were also worried about the future. They would be taking on the most powerful mage there, after all.